Research Fellow (f/m/x)

The WZB Berlin Social Science Center, research area International Politics and Law, research unit Global Sociology (led by Professor Yasemin Soysal), is seeking to appoint

one Research Fellow (f/m/x)

to be employed fulltime (39 hours/week) until 31 December 2025, with a possibility of extension. Start time is preferably 01 October 2024.

We are hiring a post-doctoral research fellow to join a vibrant research group with an interest in leading edge research on globalization. The group’s research agenda ranges from the identification of macro and microlevel diffusions of global cultural scripts, institutional frameworks and practices; their effect on individual and collective actors’ cognition, behavior and outcomes; and the paradoxical implications of the inconsistencies within and across globalized scripts and the contestation and change they generate. The research fellow is to collaborate with members of the research group in the design and production of innovative empirical solutions to this end, as well as in the publications produced in this context. The ideal candidate, thus, will need to have a theoretical interest in the topics and the skills to contribute to a challenging research environment.

The position is embedded within the Global Sociology unit at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, which is a publicly financed research institution that conducts theory-based and problem-oriented social science research (http://www.wzb.eu/en). WZB researchers come from across the globe and work across social science disciplines including sociology, political science, economics, law, and psychology.  A member of the Leibniz Association, WZB’s research is directed at the science community, policy makers, the media and the general public. The Global Sociology unit is also part of the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Scripts” (SCRIPTS), which analyses the contemporary controversies about the liberal order from a historical, global, and comparative perspective (http://www.scripts-berlin.eu).

The research fellow is expected to work with Professor Soysal on the unit’s ongoing research projects, and in connection with the SCRIPTS program, as well as conducting independent research within the scope of the unit’s overall research agenda. Please see the unit’s website for more information (https://www.wzb.eu/en/research/international-politics-and-law/global-sociology).

Your tasks and duties

• Contributing conceptually and empirically to the study of global processes, and their macro and micro level enactments, in one of the central research fields of the unit: science and knowledge society, environmental studies, global health, citizenship, human rights, international migrations
• Designing and implementing quantitative and comparative analyses in these fields, including large scale surveys
• Publishing empirically grounded research, partly together with Professor Soysal and other unit researchers, preferably in international, peer-reviewed journals
• Collaborating in designing and drafting project proposals for further funding

Your qualifications profile

• A doctoral degree in Sociology or a related social science discipline with an interest in cross-disciplinary (widely understood, including e.g. experimental social sciences, cognitive psychology) research and exchanges
• Profound knowledge and experience of quantitative methods of empirical social research
• Competence in social science survey research methods, including design, sampling, programming and administration of survey questionnaires and survey experiments
• Competence in digital data mining and textual analysis, or willingness to learn
• Competence in data visualization and presentation tools (e.g. R, Python, etc.), or willingness to learn
• Competence in compilation of reports for non-academic audience and media outlets;
• Ability and willingness to work in a team
• Excellent command of written and spoken English, preferably also another language

Our offer

• Remuneration in accordance with EG 13 TVöD Bund (in accordance with German Wage Agreement for Public Service)
• Additional benefits for public service employees (VBL U)
• Advice and support regarding visa and residence permit
• A well-equipped workplace in the center of Berlin
• An international, cooperative, and diversified working environment
• In-depth integration into the scientific community in the form of colloquia and conferences, and the possibility to teach courses at universities in Berlin
• Thorough instruction and guidance
• Flexible working hours and the possibility of mobile working (at least 20% of the weekly working hours agreed in the contract)
• We promote a good work-life balance
• Comprehensive program for continuous professional development and further qualification, in the own discipline and beyond
• Cafeteria with modern recreation rooms
• Reduced monthly ticket for local public transport (Jobticket or Deutschlandticket Job)

Equally well-qualified applicants with disabilities will be given preference. We value diversity and welcome all applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation. The WZB explicitly encourages women and persons with a migrant background to apply.

If you have any questions, please contact Lina Hayek at lina.hayek@wzb.eu.

Job interviews will likely take place on August 1, 2024.

Please send us your online application in English (consisting of a letter of motivation, a research plan of 2 pages, a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, copies of relevant certificates, and your PhD certificate (the doctoral thesis is expected to be at least submitted by the start of the position)) by no later than July 17, 2024 via https://wzb.hr4you.org/job/apply/315/research-fellow-f-m-x-id-276?page_lang=en